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Germany is scrapping a plan to fund hydrogen projects with EUR 350 mn through the EU’s European Hydrogen Bank program, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The funding was set to be disbursed alongside an EU 2.4 bn green hydrogen projects funding package, with a 20 February 2025 application deadline.
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What went down? Germany and the European Commission failed to agree on the terms of the funding, with the German Economy Ministry describing the bidding process for the hydrogen bank as having “very tight specifications.” Key disagreement was over the bank’s requirement of a price ceiling of a EUR 1.44 per kg, which the chair of the Germany’s BDEW energy association said disadvantages German companies. With Germany’s high price powers, the price was deemed too low to be viable for German developers.
What’s next? The money will either go towards other EU green projects or back to the German federal budget instead.
Germany is betting on green hydrogen for decarbonization: The government is banking on green hydrogen to decarbonize hard-to-abate heavy industries like chemicals and steel, with plans to meet up to 70% of its hydrogen demand through imports by the end of the decade. The country is planning EUR 24 bn funding through KfW to develop a 9k km national hydrogen transmission network, and it is also supporting a 3.3k km hydrogen pipeline connecting it to North Africa, Italy, and Austria.
China will impose stricter regulations on methane emissions from coal mines, Reuters reported last week. The new rules will require capturing the gas for mines that emit methane with a content of 8% or higher, a far tighter cap than the 30% imposed since 2008. These rules will apply to any new mines after April next year and to existing mines by April 2027.
Why it matters: Methane emissions from coal mines account for around 40% of the country’s total methane emissions, with a similar amount generated from agricultural activities. This initiative follows China’s promise last year to capture more methane from mines and tighten controls in livestock farms and landfill sites.
REMEMBER- Methane emissions are getting more focus: 30 countries signed the Reducing Methane from Organic Waste Declaration at COP29, pledging to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from organic waste and incorporate reduction efforts into their NDCs. The signatories account for 47% of these emissions and include 7 of the top 10 emitters globally, but they did not include China. The declaration builds on the 2021 Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce methane emissions to at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. From our region, only UAE, Turkey, Morocco, Palestine, and Jordan signed.
